The Avalanche on Friday announced several signings designed to bolster organizational depth, most notably those of goalie Cedrick Desjardins and forward Evan Brophey, both of whom spent most of last season with American Hockey League teams.

Given that the two goalies acquired by Colorado last Friday — Semyon Varlamov, obtained in a trade with Washington, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere, signed as an unrestricted free agent — have had injury problems the past two seasons, Desjardins seems to provide additional organizational insurance in the net.

Desjardins, 25, was 15-6-1 with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage with Norfolk of the AHL last season, but also was 2-0 in his only starts with the Tampa Bay Lightning, allowing only one goal.

Notably, Desjardins led the Quebec Remparts to the 2006 Memorial Cup, the championship of major junior hockey. Brophey, 24, played one game last season for Chicago, and had 10 goals and nine assists in 67 games for Rockford of the AHL. Desjardins and Brophey signed one-year contracts.

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Colorado also announced the signings of five players who had stints with Colorado last season but spent the majority of the time with Lake Erie of the AHL: defenseman David Liffiton and forwards Greg Mauldin, Justin Mercier, Ryan Stoa and David Van der Gulik. All five will be playing under one-year deals.

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